Sarah Cawoodhttp://sarahcawood.co.uk
UnfilteredTue, 15 May 2018 08:51:44 +0000en-GBhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.3Maternal mental health isn’t just about Post Natal Depression.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/maternal-mental-health-isnt-just-about-post-natal-depression/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/maternal-mental-health-isnt-just-about-post-natal-depression/#respondFri, 04 May 2018 11:04:32 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=464So, #maternalmentalhealth week is drawing to a close and I’ve been giving it quite a bit of thought. Having a baby is a wonderful, bonkers, frustrating, exciting and also sometimes really boring time. Your life is turned upside down by this new tiny person and of course, you are expected to be joyful about every moment. Your raging hormones might have something else to say about that though and new mums can often end up feeling isolated, lonely and really, really sad.

My little boy Hunter was an extremely fussy baby. He didn’t have colic, or reflux, or anything else I could attribute to the constant screaming, he was just FUSSY. The majority of my other NCT mum friends all seemed to have really sleepy, placid babies that they could tote anywhere and who latched on and fed like dreams (my BF-ing journey was extremely hard, but that’s a story for another day). I felt like a total failure: I couldn’t feed him, and I couldn’t settle him: surely the two fundamental things a new mum should be able to do?

Looking back on this time, I should probably have sought some professional help, but I soldiered on, had another baby quite quickly (within 18 months), moved house and started a job that I very quickly loathed. Not a recipe for good mental health. By the time I finally went to see my GP about my horrifying mood swings and temper and the days and days of endless weeping, the hormones that might be attributed to PND were long gone and I couldn’t blame my poor mental health on that.

Parenting is tough. Some people seem born to it, with endless patience and the ability to raise their kids without raising their voices. I am not that parent. I so wish I was but I have come to a place now where I have had to accept the person and parent that I am and even more importantly, embrace my style of motherhood.

Maternal mental health shouldn’t just be about the time just after you’ve had a baby, because, let’s be honest, every single stage that your children go through can be an enormous challenge for all of us: We are struggling with our four year old little girl at the moment, who can’t contain her temper tantrums when she is told she can’t have something she really wants. She routinely reduces me to tears and judging by the mummy friends on my social media timelines, I’m not alone.

If, like me, motherhood is anything but natural to you, don’t be ashamed. Go and talk to someone about it: a friend, your doctor, the mums on forums on parenting websites. You will soon discover that you are not alone and that help and support is there for you.

When I initially went to the GP he put me in a course of anti-depressants. Within two weeks, my moods were under control and my children no longer wondered which version of mummy they would be getting that day. They saved me, those little pills, and I will never be ashamed to say that I took them. However, after a year, I decided it was time to approach my mental health in a more holistic way. I invested in some supplements I had read were good for mental health, I started exercising again for the first time since I had my children (6 years!), I overhauled my diet, drinking and sleeping habits and I have been reading lots of books on mindfulness and the importance nature plays in good mental health (it is, serendipitously, National Gardening Week this week too!). All these small changes together have made an enormous difference to how I feel on a daily basis and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

As Blur so eloquently out it back in the nineties, Modern Life Is Rubbish…there are so many more challenges in our daily existence than there ever were before, with the power of social media only adding to our collective feelings of failure (remember kids, that perfect Insta-life you’re wishing was yours is just an illusion). So, mummies, take charge of your lives and of your mental health. Make sure you enjoy these fleeting years that your children are little and don’t let the moments be obscured by sadness and depression. The only moment that matters is the one you’re living in right now. Make it count. Make it happy. Happy Maternal Mental Health week to all you mummies and never forget, you are amazing!

SC.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/maternal-mental-health-isnt-just-about-post-natal-depression/feed/0The quick and effective way to sanitise your dishcloth.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/uncategorized/the-quick-and-effective-way-to-sanitise-your-dishcloth/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/uncategorized/the-quick-and-effective-way-to-sanitise-your-dishcloth/#respondTue, 24 Apr 2018 11:39:54 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=459Don’t you hate it when you soak the dishcloth in bleach overnight then forget and splash bleachy water all over good clothes the next morning and RUIN them?? WAHHHH!

There is an easier way to sterilise your dishcloth and sponge.

Put your soaking wet sponge and cloth into your microwave and run it on high for two minutes then carefully remove with kitchen tongs. While your microwave is still steamy, give it a wipe with some kitchen towel.

VOILA! Sterilised kitchen cloths.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/uncategorized/the-quick-and-effective-way-to-sanitise-your-dishcloth/feed/0Johann Hari’s book “Lost Connections” makes so much sense to me.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/johann-haris-book-lost-connections-makes-so-much-sense-to-me/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/johann-haris-book-lost-connections-makes-so-much-sense-to-me/#respondWed, 21 Mar 2018 14:43:50 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=451If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ll know that I’m reading a book that has caused me to have several epiphanic lightbulb moments. It’s called Lost Connections and is by a journalist called Johann Hari. As a sufferer of life-long depression he had always been prescribed medication to treat his condition but as the doses went up and the symptoms remained, he decided to embark on a journey to see if he could “uncover the real causes of depression and the unexpected solutions”.

I should just clarify at this point that I’m not on Johann’s payroll and I paid for my copy of the book so this is in no way a sponsored post. I had to write about it though, because so much in the book made so much sense to me. I am so nervous of the future that my children are heading into: a world where appearances seem to be the only thing that matter and a person’s worth can is measured by “likes” and flattering comments on social media. It breaks my heart to think that my kids are heading into such shallow waters. Of course, if this landscape doesn’t change then they will be headed for all sorts of mental health issues themselves; something I am determined for them to swerve if at all possible.

This was one of MANY passages in the book that had me shouting “yes!!” at the page.

I have suffered from event-lead depression on multiple occasions in my lifetime. (don’t most of us?) and have taken medication to get me through those tough times. There’s no doubt that there is a place in mental health treatment for those meds. But for me now, challenged with getting a new career off the ground which involves an unhealthy amount of time spent posting on social media and dealing with fluctuating hormone levels (hello peri-menopause!), it was time to think outside the meds box.

Lost Connections seems to have the answers (for me) and resonated on so many levels (and I think it should be on the curriculum in secondary schools) but in a nutshell, we all need to communicate face to face more: to create communities where there are now none: I stood drinking a cuppa in my kitchen the other day, watching everyone else living their lives perfectly on Instagram, and I felt REALLY lonely. My best friend lives eighty miles away and I have no community to meet with in person to speak of.

We need to dump advertising that tells us we will be more beautiful, popular and skinny if we buy these products. We’re worth it, after all…

I want my children not to be bombarded with messages that tell them what they should have, what they should wear and that they won’t be cool without those things. I want them to grow up with different values and not to care what anyone else thinks of their choices. Hunter recently told me some of his school friends had made fun of him because he had painted toenails. I told him that next time that happens he should say to them “why do you care?” because kids shouldn’t care what other kids are doing or wearing and Hunter shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks of him and his choices, unless of course, it is unkind. Live and Let Live is surely the mantra we should be teaching our Smalls.

OMG! YES! YES! YES! So very much this Johann.

I am going to try and live my best life from here on in. I am going to try and wish everyone on my path the very best in life and I am going to try really hard not to feel envious of my peers (even when I scroll through pictures of their beautiful houses on Insta!).

I’m going to try and build real, fulfilling relationships and a community around my family. I’m going to try and give something back to the world around me and I’m going to let go of my ego as much as I can and maybe try to do some mindfulness and meditation to keep my head space a happy place.

If you, too, struggle with the ways we live in this Brave New World, then you could do worse than give this book a read.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/johann-haris-book-lost-connections-makes-so-much-sense-to-me/feed/0Free Mother’s Day ideas worth more to us than “stuff”http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/free-mothers-day-ideas-worth-more-to-us-than-stuff/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/free-mothers-day-ideas-worth-more-to-us-than-stuff/#respondThu, 08 Mar 2018 13:57:27 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=432You’ve left Mother’s Day too late you say? Well it’s a bloody good job that Crafty Cawood is here with some ideas for you then, isn’t it?

You see guys, whilst we LOVE flowers and candles and a nice meal out, what us mummies of young children are really lacking is TIME. We often bypass all the fun stuff because there are skids in the loo, a mountain of washing and the dust bunnies are taking over every corner.

On my more frazzled days of being mum/housewife/pa/taxi/cleaner/etc/etc/ad infinitum/ad nauseum I often daydream about a fairy godmother that would come and do all the small shit, so I could maybe go and get my nails done, or spend half an hour with a book.

SO, here’s the first free idea: You could send Mummy out for a while to see a friend, go for a walk with the smalls, or (if funds allow) have a mani or summat. WHILE she’s out: do the shit jobs that she normally does.

Example. Once on my birthday many years ago, when asked what I wanted, I said “for all my cupboards to be cleaned out”. My fairy godmother Suzie (the best friend a girl could ask for) came and did exactly that while I was out. It is still one of the loveliest, kindest and most memorable gifts I have ever received.

So, do the small shit so your BabyMama can go and enjoy some bigger shit.

Homemade vouchers are another cute, free and lovely idea. Get the kids to help you if they’re old enough. You can find some amazing free printables online (check out Pinterest). “Breakfast In Bed”, “A Day Off From Chores” and “A Candlelit Bath” are all ideas to put on them….

Last year, on Mother’s Day my lovely husband and two Smalls made me a jar of hearts. Inside were lots of heart shaped papers with things they love about me written on. Hunter wrote his own, Autumn had some Daddy help. Whenever I have a bad day, I go and pick one out. So far I’ve picked out things like: “You make our house beautiful, always and that makes me proud”, “Mummy gives the best hugs”, “You can always find stuff”. It’s the best Mother’s Day gift I’ve ever had, although it should come with a mascara warning….

My homemade jar of hearts:).

“you have a lovely garden”. Thanks Hunter!

Awww, thank you Autumn: you too!

Thank you my darling OH:).It means the world to me for my hard work to be appreciated.

Another ace one: Make us a playlist of our favourite tunes. You don’t get to police this, so if we love naff show tunes (*raises hand meekly*) then shove them on there. Oh and Andy: I know you hate Ed Sheeran, but I don’t:).

Final, fab, FREE Mother’s Day idea. Leave us alone. OK, OK, I get that that sounds a bit selfish, but we don’t often get to just “be”. Whenever I’m at home, I’m “doing”. I am not very good at just “being”. But I so enjoy it when I get the chance.

So there you have it late-leavers! Go and start getting crafty and earn yourself some serious partner points in the process. You can thank me later:).

Is it just me or is January actually about 74 days long? Honestly, yesterday felt like January 62nd. BUT it is gone! Ding Dong the witch is dead.

My husband and I do Dry January every year because we like to save some money, regenerate a bit of our battered livers post-Christmas and hibernate. Initially, it’s really easy but as interminable January lingers on, it gets harder and harder and I confess I actually had a drink last Saturday (well, a few: there was a deal on bottomless prosecco at my friend’s baby shower).

So here’s the thing. It’s quite easy to give up the booze if a). you’re not planning on going out and b). you don’t mind the nights you do go out being a bit staid, but moving forwards, I really don’t want to slip back into my old drinking habits which have, on occasion, even included the odd glass of wine early on a Tuesday evening when the kids have been a particular brand of git. The other issue I have with being completely teetotal is that one can’t deny that a booze-free night isn’t as much fun as a booze-fuelled one. You can’t tell me that you’ve ended up going on some kind of mad adventure when you’ve been mad sober….

Now I realise that as a 45 year old mum of two little ones, those adventures have had to be kicked to the curb, but I wouldn’t take any of the other ones I had pre-kids back for all the tea in China. I’ve probably got a book in me somewhere (If I can remember the finer details of some of those nights).

So, here’s my next challenge: MODERATION. I actually think moderation is much, much harder than abstaining completely, but I am SO OVER feeling a bit shit, a bit under par and a lot like a rubbish mum.

You know. just the odd small glass….

Just the one small glass then.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/what-ive-learnt-from-another-dry-january/feed/0Throw Back Thursday: A Tale Of Two Sarahs.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/throw-back-thursday-a-tale-of-two-sarahs/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/throw-back-thursday-a-tale-of-two-sarahs/#respondThu, 18 Jan 2018 12:34:17 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=295December 1996. The second series of The Girlie Show was about to kick off (literally and metaphorically) in the new year.

Sarah Cawood diary entry 30th December 1996.

After many rounds of auditions, I had been lucky enough to get a job co-hosting with Sara Cox (replacing Clare Gorham). I knew from the moment I met her that we were going to get on. She was a no-bullshit, fun, outgoing and brilliant chick to have around and I loved her instantly.

“Sarah Cox is my other new bezzie mate: she’s so cool…”

Beautiful Sara.

We proceeded to go to every party, every gig and every after-party that we were fortunate enough to be invited to. To be perfectly honest, I can’t remember that much of those heady few weeks; they were a real whirlwind. I do remember one night though, after we had recorded the show, when we all headed down to Stringfellows (Peter Stringfellow had been a guest on the show that night, along with Lemmy from Motorhead). Peter was the perfect host, plying us with champagne and insisting Sara and I enjoy a lapdance from one of his girls (AWKS in every way). Chris Evans was there too and we all got thoroughly wasted (it was the 90s, right? And therefore The Law).

Coxy and Cawood. (I’m still trying to figure out how the hell to size my images properly!)

Sara crashed at mine that night and we dropped Lemmy at his hotel on the way home in our car. As I went to give him the standard telly-air-kiss-on-both cheeks, he grabbed my face and stuck his fat tongue right down my throat. I pulled away and admonished him: “you can’t do that!” I remonstrated. “I just did” was his reply then he turned on his cowboy heels and walked away without a backward glance. My meeting with him from then onwards was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

I remember thinking around that time that Sara and I would be friends for life, but like many friendships forged back then , it was short lived for a host of rubbish reasons. However, whenever I see her on the TV, or hear her on the radio now, I always remember what a brilliant time we had, and what a brilliant woman she is.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/throw-back-thursday-a-tale-of-two-sarahs/feed/0Yes, January sucks arse but here are some small ways to find the joy.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/yes-january-sucks-arse-but-here-are-some-small-ways-to-find-the-joy/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/yes-january-sucks-arse-but-here-are-some-small-ways-to-find-the-joy/#respondWed, 10 Jan 2018 12:52:51 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=277HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My husband would kill me for saying that. He thinks it should be limited to New Year’s Day only. I think it’s cheerful and friendly and valid for the whole of January. So there.

Anyway. It’s bloody horrible out there isn’t it? I’m currently sitting at our dining room table looking out on a grey street littered with half dead Christmas trees waiting for the recycling boys to come and take them away. Our boiler has finally given up the ghost so I’ve got the fire lit and I’m trying to think warm thoughts.

It’s easy to let the gloom take hold in a month that feels interminable. We are all poorer, fatter and sicker than we were a couple of months ago. So this year, I didn’t make a resolution so much as just decide that I would find the joy wherever I could. You have to look hard to find it but it’s there.

Here are a few of the ways I’m finding the happy for January 2018:

The most revelatory thing that I’ve done is try to be mindful. I’m reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I’ve previously read The Power Of Now and I honestly think that mindfulness is the key to true contentment with your lot. If you do one thing this month, study mindfulness. It’s honestly life changing.

Eckhart Tolle Wisdom

Only surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself. You can’t make everyone love you, some just won’t. Stop trying so hard with those energy stealers and focus on the good ones. Like my Carrie:

Beautiful flowers gifted by my beautiful friend Carrie.

Look for Life. I’ve just been in the garden and although it all looks grey and dead and twiggy, there IS life there. There are buds and shoots and the promise of new life and warmer times right there to see.

My brown and withered hydrangea. But look closely: NEW SHOOTS!

Look for the LIFE in January. I think these are Narcissus. I’m excited to find out for sure though:).

Embrace the Hygge. Light the fire, draw the curtains, grab a blanket, light that poncey new scented candle that Santa bought for you and watch Silent Witness. There is nothing wrong with not leaving the house at all for the whole month (except to go and get more bread-based comfort food)

Embrace the HYGGE. Light that fire. Burner, electric, three bar. Whatever. If you have none of those; fill a hottie!

Ditch the Diet. Honestly, how miserable do you want to BE? It’s cold, you’ll be needing that extra layer of fat to keep you warm. As soon as the crocii show their sunny yellow and purple faces, I’ll get out there and run it off. In the meantime, in order to keep my endorphins flowing, it’ll be a Davina workout in the comfort of my sitting room a couple of times a week.

Sod the diet, January calls for CHOCOLATE. #comfortfoodcomforts

Cuddle someone. Probably best to make it someone you know;). If there is no one to cuddle, get a pet (stroking cats is proven to lower your blood pressure). If there’s no way to get a pet, get a cuddly toy. Honestly, there’s a reason we have them when we are little.

Have a bath. There are two types of people in this world, people who love a bath, and people who don’t know what they’re missing.

Know that it WILL PASS. Spring is just around the corner. Stay hopeful.

I’m not sure how much use any of this will be to anyone, but I can safely say that this New Year has been my happiest ever.

Oh and I’ve already started making some gifts for the year ahead. I’ve re-potted some Chinese Money Plant (Pilea Peperomioides) shoots from the mother plant. That was another lovely, joyful thing to do. I do love a green-fingered potter.

Re-potting my Chinese money plant

My Chinese money plant had babies!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Be Happy. I hope you find the joy.

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/yes-january-sucks-arse-but-here-are-some-small-ways-to-find-the-joy/feed/0Spiced Blackberry Vodka? Don’t mind if I do…http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/cooking/spiced-blackberry-vodka-dont-mind-if-i-do/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/cooking/spiced-blackberry-vodka-dont-mind-if-i-do/#respondThu, 07 Dec 2017 12:42:50 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=268Now this is easy to do and so lovely to gift at Christmas. According to the recipe I took the inspo for for this, it has to be left for three months which means I can’t break this one open until Christmas 2018. Wahhhhh! So, I took to the web and read up about it and actually, 3 to 6 days is pretty sufficient for steeping berries so HUZZAH! I shall be cracking this baby open at Christmas 2017 after all.

My mum has some brambles in her back garden and always has a freezer full of blackberries so last time I visited I plundered it and took a load.

You can add pretty much whatever you like (I’m now thinking some fresh ginger would have been LUSH).

I put the frozen fruit in a big Kilner jar (washed and sterilised in a warm oven on 100 degrees celsius) then added the vodka, sugar and spices and stirred intermittently until all the sugar had dissolved. Then into a cool, dark place for six days to steep. Then I’ll strain it and bottle it up to spread joy and headaches amongst all of my friends this Christmas! Have it with prosecco for a fizzy, festive cocktail. On its own as a warming, sipping liqueur. Or in a long glass with ice, a slice of orange and a slug of tonic as a more refreshing drink.

MERRY INFUSENESS!

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/cooking/spiced-blackberry-vodka-dont-mind-if-i-do/feed/0Is HMRC deliberately making it hard to claim the 30 hours free childcare?http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/family/is-hmrc-deliberately-making-it-hard-to-claim-the-30-hours-free-childcare/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/family/is-hmrc-deliberately-making-it-hard-to-claim-the-30-hours-free-childcare/#commentsThu, 07 Dec 2017 10:56:19 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=256So, I spent the better part of about an hour and a half on the phone to HMRC yesterday and came off the phone without a resolution and without any shred of sanity left. Is anyone else having problems sorting out the 30 hours childcare that the government rolled out in September?

I managed somehow to get Autumn enrolled on the scheme for the last three months but that was a mission too, with our local council telling me that our application was too late. After much to-ing and fro-ing, HMRC provided us with a form proving my application was in on time but by now it was November and I had missed out on two months of childcare I could have claimed and Autumn was at home with me while I worked, basically being ignored while I tried to hit deadlines.

So, I’m now trying to reapply (as you have to do every three months) for January and the HMRC website is telling me that I’ve never had an account (even though Autumn is currently at nursery on her 30 hours: explain that one!). So I’ve tried to set up a new application, HMRC’s website tells me to set up a new government gateway account (I’ve already got one, but apparently it’s not the right one, even though that’s the one I set up for the first application: WAHHHHHH). So I dutifully set up a new one but no, it’s still the wrong one. Cue that time on the phone (that I will never get back) being passed between departments, none of whom seem to have a bloody clue what’s going on. It has now been passed to the technical department (“they’re really busy at the moment as we’re having a few teething problems” NO SHIT.) So god only knows when I will get it all sorted and atm, it looks like I won’t get my code to nursery in time and I will have to go back to ignoring my poor daughter while I try and write. The other spanner is that I am a LTD company and as such, will apply as PAYE. This may well blow HMRC’s tiny mind (and system). Last night I couldn’t sleep worrying about it and I’ve been in tears all day about it today. It’s so frustrating,

It makes you wonder how many people give up and don’t claim doesn’t it? And THAT makes me wonder whether all of this hassle is deliberate…….

UPDATE. I have not managed to sort out the problem and the clock is ticking on getting the code to my childcare providers. I’ve now been advised by HMRC to make a new application through my husband. I wait with baited breath for the verdict…..

]]>http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/family/is-hmrc-deliberately-making-it-hard-to-claim-the-30-hours-free-childcare/feed/2A day of industry in Cawood’s Crafty Kitchen.http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/cooking/a-day-of-industry-in-cawoods-crafty-kitchen/
http://sarahcawood.co.uk/blog/cooking/a-day-of-industry-in-cawoods-crafty-kitchen/#commentsFri, 24 Nov 2017 15:04:28 +0000http://sarahcawood.co.uk/?p=237Blimey, I’ve been in my kitchen all day making bits and pieces for Christmas pressies. I’ve made some peppermint bark (with limited success: I’ve discovered I’m no good at drizzling chocolate, I must practice with the next batch and I also discovered to deep angst that is chocolate seizing)

I made some candy cane vodka (following a recipe I found in a magazine last year and saved). Not enough sugar for my liking so I added a load and put more candy cane dust in too and now I have something resembling Pepto Bismol. It tastes OK though: sweetly, medicinally minty* I’m not sure what I’m going to do to make it Gift-able. I will try some different things. Hopefully the £12 I spent putting it together won’t be wasted.

I’ve also done a second pour on my teacup candles (although they’re still dipping in the middle so may have to do a third pour). I also made some red onion chutney following a recipe I saved from last year. Again, it was rubbish! I ended up adding a load of soft, brown sugar, some roasted garlic and some chilli. I then reduced it right down and it’s really quite yummy. With a cracker and a sharp, mature cheddar at Christmas, it’ll be delish. I will make up some little hampers with homemade cheese crackers and a truckle of cheese.

Recipes (my modified ones) and photos are below and in my recipes section here in case you fancy having a go at any of these yourself.

Next on the agenda is piccalilly, some more chutney and lots of different flavoured shortbreads (which I’ll freeze at the dough stage and bake closer to Christmas.

I know it’s only mid-November but I’m writing this while the kids play and watch Elf and round Cawood way, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….

I recycled some dregs from last year’s yummy Christmas scented candles and added them to some wax beads and they smell amazing! After the second pour the dip was almost gone.

Tea cup £2 from an antiques market near my mum’s. Wax beads from Amazon. Melted down with last years wax bits left over. It smells AMAZING!

Gorgeous vintage teacup picked up in a charity shop and filled with recycled scented and coloured wax. I did a second pour on this and now it’s a beauty.

Ready to melt the chocolate down for peppermint bark. SO EASY. Melt milk chocolate, spread on to baking try lined with parchment paper, then drizzle white chocolate over the top, then blitz some candy canes and sprinkle over the top and refrigerate for a couple of hours then break up into chunks and pop in a pretty bag. I added edible glitter as a finishing touch. IMPORTANT! Chocolate seizes very easily when you add essence so use flavoured oils instead. Don’t do what I did and add peppermint essence to the white chocolate. I ended up with a sticky, un-useable load of GUNK.

Peppermint Bark all bagged up and ready to gift. The little bags were from Ikea (I think they’re meant to be an advent calendar as there were 24 of them) They’re perfect for little gifts like this.

I made this berry jam to use up an excess of frozen fruit I had in my freezer. I added a vanilla pod to take the edge of the tang. Recipe here.

I took this lot to give to old friends I see very rarely as Christmas treats. The lovely thing about giving a homemade gift is that every time they spread that jam on a hot, buttered crumpet, hopefully, they will think about me and keep me in their hearts even though I don’t get to see them.

This was from a recipe from HEAT magazine last year which was RUBBISH. You can find my modified recipe in my recipes section.

*In it’s first incarnation. The problem with it was that the candy canes were minty so I ended up with Calpol flavoured vodka. I saved it by adding essence of cacao. Now it’s a mint-choc-chip flavour and frankly, DELICIOUS.